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  • 2 weeks later...

Hosea Sanders officially marks 30 years with ABC 7. Started off on Mornings with Lauren Cohn (1994-96), Leah Hope (96-2001) and Judy Hsu (2001-15). Then on the 7pm newscast for 4 years and now covering entertainment stories.

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  • Like 3
  • 3 weeks later...

Glad no one was injured. If I'm not mistaken, the same thing happened to WABC's streetside studio nearly 4 years ago during one of their newscasts. How crazy would it be if it was the same guy???

 

Nevertheless, I could see them rethinking the type of glass they use when the time comes to remodel the studio.

On 8/29/2024 at 11:52 PM, Jase said:

Glad no one was injured. If I'm not mistaken, the same thing happened to WABC's streetside studio nearly 4 years ago during one of their newscasts. How crazy would it be if it was the same guy???

 

Nevertheless, I could see them rethinking the type of glass they use when the time comes to remodel the studio.

I know everyone wants to be cool and have the Today Show 'Window on the World' type studio, but the world is nuts sadly!

 

Especially in the era of unmarked news cars, concealing where news operations are done might be good for security.

 

I worked at a station where the company was too cheap to put up a proper gate, and people would come unto the front lawn and do crazy stuff all the time. I wondered why they at least didn't take down the station logo signage if they weren't going to purchase proper fencing.

Edited by MediaZone4K
6 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

I know everyone wants to be cool and have the Today Show 'Window on the World' type studio, but the world is nuts sadly!

 

Especially in the era of unmarked news cars, concealing where news operations are done might be good for security.

 

I worked at a station where the company was too cheap to put up a proper gate, and people would come unto the front lawn and do crazy stuff all the time. I wondered why they at least didn't take down the station logo signage if they weren't going to purchase proper fencing.

 

WLS' streetside studio is pretty unique in that there's no cement/heavy base with super thick glass. It's all glass (with a door). And as you say, the world is nuts and it may be time to re-think having a streetside studio (particularly in a high foot traffic (but questionable) area that State Street has become. 

 

Plus, the shades are drawn 99.9% of the time, the televisions that allow people to see/hear the newscasts haven't been on in years and there have also been times that the ticker isn't on. Yes, everything still works, etc... but it's a very dated set. The 20th anniversary of the debut of the streetside studio is in 2026 (I believe). It will be interesting to see if WLS stays there or returns to a traditional studio setting.

Edited by Jase

Just went by the studio while in Chicago this weekend. It’s surprisingly exposed to the street level and pedestrians in a way most other street side studios (including WBBMs) aren’t. There’s an elevated platform or barricade that creates some type of separation for those other studios that WLS doesn’t have. The separation from the street, window and set is shockingly small.

Edited by MorningNews
9 hours ago, MorningNews said:

Just went by the studio while in Chicago this weekend. It’s surprisingly exposed to the street level and pedestrians in a way most other street side studios (including WBBMs). There’s an elevated platform or barricade that creates some type of separation for those other studios that WLS doesn’t have. The separation from the street, window and set is shockingly small.

 

And let's not forget there's a glass door that leads out to the sidewalk too. Safe to say no one likely thought of the potential security risks during the design process in 2005/2006. Luckily, the breakage is isolated to one glass panel (and not across two or more). Hopefully they can get it fixed soon because leaving it exposed only invites others to do more damage. 

 

On 8/29/2024 at 10:52 PM, Jase said:

Nevertheless, I could see them rethinking the type of glass they use when the time comes to remodel the studio.

 

The glass did its job as it was designed to do; it's supposed to remain intact and not shatter as bulletproof glass, so that's all you can really ask out of a strong pane of glass like that. I've been past the studio many times and it really is protected with thick glass that absorbs most collision impact as it did in 2007 (not that I've tested it out myself).

 

The other thing though is that it was totally a punk suburban kid here just being a stupid little brat, so this wasn't what you'd expect at all in downtown Chicago. For the most part criminals definitely steer clear of that block of State Street just by virtue of WLS being there with multiple skycams and multiple angles; you'd be an absolute idiot to commit a crime there. And for the most part when WGN Radio and WMAQ had their own streetside studios the worst you got was the occasional drunk who might provide some midnight color commentary. I'm sure ABC and CBS regularly have security checks to make sure everything is secured and proper, so I'm not worried about anything horrible happening out there outside of copycats.

  • Like 3

Yeah, I know it's not 2006, anymore, but this idea of aggressively reassessing their streetside position is a little weird, to me. Two troublemakers in 18 years, a 17-year between incidents, and only 1 of them happening in an "anti-media" era. That's a great track record, considering some of the crazy crap that's happened outside of the Today Show, in a similar span of time. Cost and maintenance might be what sends them to another studio, but unless there are more incidents soon, I don't think safety will be the motivator.

  • Like 4

How often would you say the shade is down VS up? I've been past there when they are on the air, very interesting to see what the anchors do during commercial breaks. Got a kick out of watch the sports guy reading from his notes and not the prompter when showing highlights. Don't forget ESPN 1000 has there StreetSide studio right next-door. Got to see Carm and Juriko, and Waddle/Silvy when I've walked past.  

2 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

 

The glass did its job as it was designed to do; it's supposed to remain intact and not shatter as bulletproof glass, so that's all you can really ask out of a strong pane of glass like that. I've been past the studio many times and it really is protected with thick glass that absorbs most collision impact as it did in 2007 (not that I've tested it out myself).

 

The other thing though is that it was totally a punk suburban kid here just being a stupid little brat, so this wasn't what you'd expect at all in downtown Chicago. For the most part criminals definitely steer clear of that block of State Street just by virtue of WLS being there with multiple skycams and multiple angles; you'd be an absolute idiot to commit a crime there. And for the most part when WGN Radio and WMAQ had their own streetside studios the worst you got was the occasional drunk who might provide some midnight color commentary. I'm sure ABC and CBS regularly have security checks to make sure everything is secured and proper, so I'm not worried about anything horrible happening out there outside of copycats.

 

It's not a question of the glass not doing it's job, but rather assessing what (if anything) more needs to be done when incidents like this occur. Just as when the van crashed into the studio, bollards where added to prevent said incident from happening again.

 

And from personal experience, I have (and continue to this day) walked this stretch of State to/from work all times of the day/night and can attest, it's not as safe as it once was. But I digress....

 

 

2 hours ago, 24994J said:

Yeah, I know it's not 2006, anymore, but this idea of aggressively reassessing their streetside position is a little weird, to me. Two troublemakers in 18 years, a 17-year between incidents, and only 1 of them happening in an "anti-media" era. That's a great track record, considering some of the crazy crap that's happened outside of the Today Show, in a similar span of time. Cost and maintenance might be what sends them to another studio, but unless there are more incidents soon, I don't think safety will be the motivator.

 

With the studio's milestone anniversary coming up, it's not outside the realm of possibilities that WLS is looking toward either another set re-fresh or moving back to a traditional set setting. This rock/brick-throwing incident is probably a part of said discussion (though not likely a determining factor one way or another if the stay streetside or not).

 

1 hour ago, Chicago2008 said:

How often would you say the shade is down VS up?

 

The shades are down a majority of the time (regardless if it's to block sunlight, etc...). So I say 99.9% of the time. 

Edited by Jase
3 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

WMAQ had their own streetside studios the worst you got was the occasional drunk who might provide some midnight color commentary.

Actually a window got damaged at Studio 5 in 2012 by their entrance at 401.

So, by chance, I and another forum member have obtained tickets for next week's Windy City Weekend. We're not anticipating any special access, like when I went a decade ago, and I doubt there will be any Q&A opportunities, BUT if there's anything anyone wants us to look out for or observe, let me know.

2 minutes ago, ns8401 said:

Are they still doing the outside crowd waves at the camera at the end of the show at all? 

 

Never at the end of the shows, but they'll often turn the camera around if State Street is bustling after a show lets out, across the street. Typically a Saturday night thing.

  • Sad 1
3 minutes ago, 24994J said:

 

Never at the end of the shows, but they'll often turn the camera around if State Street is bustling after a show lets out, across the street. Typically a Saturday night thing.

That’s too bad, I always thought that was a nice touch. I’m leaning towards saying they should abandon it. 

  • 1 month later...

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